Greece has blocked adoption of the European Union’s 21st sanctions package against Russia, objecting to a proposed prohibition on transporting Russian liquefied natural gas to third countries. The stand-off forced EU ambassadors on 15 July to approve an emergency one-week extension of the existing $44.1-per-barrel oil price cap, averting an automatic increase that would have been triggered by rising global crude prices. Without the rollover, the cap would have climbed above $60 per barrel, according to officials in Brussels, significantly weakening a mechanism designed to limit Moscow’s oil revenues.

According to EU diplomats and officials briefed on the talks, Athens intervened to protect Dynagas, a Greek-owned shipping company controlled by billionaire Georgios Prokopiou. The firm operates 27 gas carriers, including roughly one-third of the world’s ice-class Arc7 tankers purpose-built for the Yamal LNG project in the Russian Arctic. Greek representatives told their EU counterparts that the transport ban would “destroy” the company, arguing the specialised vessels cannot be redeployed on other routes and would have to be sold to non-Western buyers. Since the start of 2025, Dynagas vessels have carried more than 10 million tonnes of Russian LNG on 144 voyages, shipping data show. European diplomats note that other member states have set aside comparable business interests to impose economic costs on Moscow.

The Greek veto is not the only obstacle. Bulgaria blocked the blacklisting of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, while Germany objected to a proposed ban on imports of Alaskan pollock from Russia, diplomats said. A plan to impose a sweeping visa ban on Russian servicemen has been narrowed to short-term visas for those directly involved in combat operations, following resistance from France, Italy and Greece. The draft package also includes sanctions on additional banks, cryptocurrency networks and military-industrial entities, as well as a mechanism to lower the oil price cap further. Measures related to Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International are under discussion, according to officials familiar with the negotiations.

The delay exposes persistent tension between the EU’s collective sanctions architecture and the economic interests of individual member states. The proposed LNG transit ban would extend restrictions that already prohibit the re-export of Russian LNG through European ports, targeting a loophole that allows European-owned ships to carry Russian gas to non-EU buyers. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the package is “quite close to completion” but acknowledged that no deal was reached at the 13 July foreign ministers’ meeting. Ambassadors are now aiming to finalise an agreement by 23 July, though the Greek objection remains the principal unresolved issue.